Cash bursaries, scholarships and unconditional offers are being used by universities in Birmingham to woo students as new government rules are allowing an unlimited expansion of campuses this autumn.

The scramble is on by universities to fill their courses as the cap on student recruitment has been removed for the first time in England this year.

The Government hopes this removal will increase the skilled labour market and in turn boost the economy as well as encourage more students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter higher education.

Around 35,000 extra students are expected to enrol across Britain by 2017 following the removal of the cap - although universities in the Russell Group, including the University of Birmingham - fear the extra costs of providing more places could come at the expense of their ability to carry out research.

The removal of the cap has seen universities offering a multitude of schemes in a bid to lure students.

And while tomorrow's exam results could leave some students without a university place if they fail to receive the grades they need, the University of Birmingham has offered some teenagers a guaranteed place regardless of whether they flunk their A-levels.

The university's website details its "unconditional offer scheme" for 2015, saying it targets "the very brightest students in certain subject areas" who "demonstrate exceptional academic performance in their schooling".

"We hope the unconditional offer will demonstrate to these outstanding students our confidence they have the necessary qualities to excel through one of our degree programmes," adds the site.

"We also hope the unconditional offer will alleviate some of the pressure students feel at this time and will enable them to focus on achieving the excellent grades that will become part of their curriculum vitae."

The university also offers a number of scholarships, bursaries and grants - including one sponsored by Aston Villa.

It comes as a poll by the Student Room of 5,000 students found those from Birmingham (40 per cent) were more influenced by the availability of bursaries and grants than students in any other major city.

But some fear the offer of unconditional places will leave few options for those students facing the clearing system if they do not get the grades they need for conditional offers.

Newman University, in Bartley Green, said it had a number of places through clearing and it was being "careful" in the number of students it was recruiting.

Michaela Artingstall, head of registry operations, said: "The removal of the cap on student numbers this year has enabled us to accept more students than in previous years.

"However, we are careful to only take the number of students that will enable us to continue implementing our interactive teaching style, which encourages participation, discussion and debate in teaching sessions."

Angela Nartey, policy officer at the University and College Union, said the atmosphere in universities was full of financial anxiety.

"If institutions start to act more competitively and recruit higher numbers, that could affect other institutions," she said.

"It's worrying that universities are rewarded for recruiting higher numbers of students regardless of their ability to cater to those students."